Remington 700 Long Range 30-06 - anyone shot one?

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  • kml

    Plinker
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    I've been looking for a 30-06 bolt gun for casual long range shooting and this has my interest. Curious if any one has any hands-on with one.

    https://www.remington.com/rifles/bolt-action/model-700/model-700-long-range

    The Bell and Carlson M40 stock is something I had on a 308 in the 90's and it was comfortable and stable. It supported very good accuracy for me. Never really had to think about it - I can't imagine much has changed. 26" is a good length for a 30-06 IMO and the internet seems to say they have been capable of some decent accuracy but there seems to be mixed reviews on the trigger. Most of the complaints were from 2010 -2012ish. Has there been a trigger change on the Remingtons recently? Currently they come with the X-mark Pro which I've never touched - are they servicable?

    Any feedback on the Long range, the trigger, or comparable rifles in 30-06 would be appreciated!
     

    kml

    Plinker
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    It is engineered to make three shots look like one. It should serve you well. What do you consider long range?
    I'd like to say I would try to stretch it out to 1k but with range availability 600, maybe 800 is more realistic. I want to work on consistently getting an effective first shot on target at varying ranges out to that.
     

    DocIndy

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    Are you set on 30-06? Long range precision ammo for it isn’t piled on the shelf of every shop. If you reload, this won’t be an issue. I was lookin for a precision plinker a few years ago and had conscidered the 30-06. I went with a .308 simply for ammo availability for precision/hunting. Every well stocked shop has 308 match ammo on the shelf.
     

    tcecil88

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    Of the calibers this rifle is offered in, 30.06 makes the most sense.

    Agreed, the .30-06 is going to be the most economical probably for that rifle. There is usually a wide choice of loads available for this at Cabela's, but the same could be said for the 7mm as well. I would agree that going with a .308 would make more sense. The 700 SPS Varmint would work well in .308.
    I had a 700 VLS back in the day and that rifle was awesome. If I would have gotten it in .223 I would probably still have it. I currently have the 700 AAC-SD and it is working well for me. I use the Federal GMM 168 gr. SMK in that rifle.
     

    Fordtough25

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    I have a ruger american in 30-06, really a nice shooting rifle for the $$$. I had a remington 700 several years back in 30-06 and it left me wanting more. No good reason honestly, but I do like this american and am putting a better scope on it now. I love the 30-06!
     

    teddy12b

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    Shame on me for not seeing this thread a week ago, so here's a delayed answer.

    I can't speak to that particular rifle, because I don't own one. What I can say is that it's got everything I'd be looking for in a long range rifle so the chances are pretty good it'll shoot. If it doesn't shoot well, start at the trigger and slap in an adjustable Timney.

    If I can give any good advice here it'll be on shooting the 30-06 at long range. I bought a savage 110fp in 30-06 back in '07 as a custom order and I had it in my hands in January of '08. I put it in a B7C duramax stock similar to what you're looking at and the gun just shoots. One rifle or another rifle really doesn't matter all that much so long as it puts holes tightly together on paper. The 30-06 comes with mixed blessings when we start talking factory ammo bought over the counter. If you want cheap blasting ammo then yes it's out there and don't be shocked when your steel cased wolf doesn't put up a tiny group, but hey it's cheap. If you want to shoot far, then you want match or some type of higher quality ammo and this is where the 30-06 lacks. Last time I looked Federal makes one match load for the 30-06 and it's a 168gr bullet. Nothing wrong with that at all, and I've shot 168gr ammo out to 1,000 yards for years. Where the 30-06 is going to shine is when you start to handload your own ammo and use heavier bullets. When I started shooting 200gr matchkings out of my 30-06 the amount I had to adjust for wind was roughly cut in half, and the amount of elevation to adjust for at 1,000 yards was cut down by 5 or 6 feet if I remember right and the energy on target at that distance nearly doubled. In short, when I handloaded my own heavy match bullets, I dumby proofed my rifle a little but and made it more effective on targets just by using a heavier bullet.

    Hopefully that helps, but the only thing "wrong" with the 30-06 is that it's old. It's such an old trusty cartridge that's killed every wild animal on earth, served in combat in world wars in the hands of infantry to snipers, that it's biggest problem is that it's just old and trusty. In today's world people want the new cutting edge wiz bang gadget that'll give them some kind of competitive edge. The 6.5 creedmore is starting to take off and rightfully so it's a great caliber, but even as it's gaining popularity there's newer cartridges nipping at its heels. The 30-06 is a cartridge you're going to be able to find some ammo for in every gravel road mom and pops type of store that sell ammo. All the other cute calibers of the day not so much. If Magpul, or Bravo Company or any other trend setter in the firearms industry came out with a new cartridge today that had better ballistics than a 308 and less recoil than a 300 win mag without using a belted case then people would be flocking to it. Instead people flock to new pretty shiny things because they're new, while the whole time the old 30-06 just keeps plugging along like some old diesel generator from WWII that just won't quit or break down. Nothing wrong with a 30-06 at all and if that's what you want then by all means go for it.

    Having said all of that, as I've gotten older and my kids have more things going on my "free time" keeps drying up. I don't have the time at the reloading bench or the range like I used to to supply my 30-06 with hand made ammo. I ended up buying a 308 because it's got the most ammo options and after market support behind it than any other caliber out there for long range shooting or any other task. The rifle in particular that I bought is the new 700 Magpul Hunter with a 22" 5R threaded barrel. I'd recommend that rifle if you're considering a 308.
     

    kml

    Plinker
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    Thanks guys! I am set on 30-06. I've purged my collection to a small handful of common calibers and because of an M1 Garand that I don't want to part with it is my choice for a rifle round. I've put aside "a few" rounds for it and I'd like the option of being able to use it in my bolt gun if pressed.

    I agree that .308 has much better ammo selection and rifle choices for this type of shooting. I had a varmint weight 700 in .308 with a similar B&C M40 stock in the early 90's that served me well in 1000 meter so I know the round is capable at range but logistically don't want to add another round.

    Same argument for all of the newer 6.5-ish rounds plus, though they've seemed to taken off in distance shooting at paper, I have reservations that their smaller bullets would be as versatile when it comes to terminal ballistics. I've shot my fair share of 25-06 and 7 mm Rem mag through the years and although the energy numbers in the reloading manual can be almost intoxicating there is a real world limit on the physical ability of a smaller bullet to deliver that energy. I shot a brown bear in alaska with a 7mm rem magnum that wasn't as impressed with the ballistics chart as I was.

    As Teddy12b said, the biggest hit against the '06 is it's age. A lot of shooters dismiss it only because grandpa's deer rifle shot it! There are flatter shooting rounds, there are more powerful rounds but I think the good ole' '06 will be adequate. It has proven to be a good balance over the decades.

    I'm not set on the remington but it's one of the few factory heavy barrel in 30-06 I've found and it does come with a very good stock. The trigger seems to have mediocre reviews but that's not the end of the world, there are plenty of replacement available. This gun in 300 Win mag hasn't impressed the internet but there isn't much on the '06 which is why I was asking if anyone had shot one. If anyone knows of other options I'd like to hear about them.

    Thanks again folks!
     

    kml

    Plinker
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    Teddy12b, thanks for that post, good stuff! I used to reload but got out of it for a few years. I'm going to get back into it for which ever 30-06 I get because of the reasons you and tcecil88 mention. I'm interested in some of the new heavy ELD hornadys out. Both for this and subs for my 300 blk. The .777 bc of the 225gr ELD match is impressive!
     

    teddy12b

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    I've tried the Hornady ELD-x Hunter in 308 and 30-06 and wasn't really impressed with the accuracy. Really for what you're paying for, you should be able to expect something great, but at least in my rifles that wasn't the case. Handloading is always going to give you the most accurate results, but it's also always relative to how much time you've got. My 30-06 load is a Fed match primer, lapua brass, IMR4350, and a sierra 200gr matchking. Best part of that load is that I can swap out a 200gr gameking with very similar ballistics. That was part of my reasoning going in, but all these years later I've never done that for hunting so go figure. Current deer body count with 200gr matchkings is 3, with every deer I've shot with it being in my freezer and on my table.
     

    Mgderf

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    I have no experience with the Remington 700, but I did just purchase what I feel is a nice rifle.
    I don't have access to a range any longer than 100 yards right now. Hopefully that will change.

    I bought a new Mossberg Patriot rifle in .30-06.
    It fits me well and shoots better than I do.
    I haven't started loading for it yet, but that's not far away either.
     

    Woobie

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    If I had it to do over again, I would have gotten a 30-06 as my long range rifle. But I let a friend talk me into the .308. It's still a great round, it just gives up a bit to the '06, especially for the handloader.

    I purchased my 700 as an ADL in 2012. I replaced just about everything, except the trigger and the barreled action. I did do some work on the trigger, but haven't gotten around to replacing it yet. I have a love-hate relationship with it, TBH. It is accurate enough for my purposes, although it doesn't shoot the kind of groups that make me grin. My groups are consistently just under 3/4 MOA. But it has a very long throat. I am seated about .080 off the lands with my loads. I think OAL with a 178 A-max is something like 2.930" if I seat on the lands.

    Moral of the story: try to buy it somewhere where they will let you check the chamber before purchase. I called Mark Penrod to see if he would cut the barrel back, ream the chamber and cut the threads. He said it might be a waste of money because it's not uncommon for one of those rifles to have a chamber out of concentric with the bore :n00b: Now Big Green might have replaced some worn out tooling since then, but I know their QC issues right now are legion. I'm not saying not to buy it, because they are potentially very accurate rifles. But I am saying go into the purchase with caution.

    I will say that they did it right with the twist rate on the rifle you are looking at. A lot of commercial 30 calibers have 1:12 barrels. The 1:10 in this one should stabilize some pretty heavy bullets.
     
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